Connecticut Public Hearing on HB 5422: A UConn‑Led Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Study With State Agencies, Funding, and Data-Access Concerns

To the point

At a public hearing on HB 5422 Rep. Joe Hoxha proposed a $300,000 UConn study of unidentified aerial phenomena to be conducted with DESPP, DEEP, the Office of Military Affairs, and a UFO investigations nonprofit, including about $150,000 for a primary faculty contributor, graduate researchers, equipment and computing services, and $150,000 to hire additional faculty, with Yale PhD student Sri Tata supporting it as a centralized, policy‑relevant scientific effort, while testimony included Rian Becker’s remark about Chester Arthur and extraterrestrials, DESPP Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins warning about potential access to sensitive data, UConn’s Kylene Perras urging funding amid budget pressures, and opponent Harold Crevier calling the proposal a waste, and, if approved, UConn would join Harvard’s Galileo Project, Montana Tech, UAlbany’s Project X, and Penn State’s Extraterrestrial Intelligence Center.